Aerosol dispenser having flexible collapsible product containing sac

ABSTRACT

An aerosol dispenser of the type in which the propellant and the product to be dispensed are kept separate until dispensed. The dispenser has an outer container with a valve means on said outer container. A propellant cartridge is provided in said outer container and is coupled to said valve means. At least one fluid tight flexible sac is provided in said outer container and contains the product to be dispensed in a fluid condition, and means is provided coupling said sac to said valve means for aspirating the contents of the sac when the valve means is opened to allow propellant to flow from said propellant cartridge. The sac collapses due to the atmospheric pressure around it as the contents are aspirated.

I United States Patent 1151 3,669,31 3 Marand et al. 1 June 13, 1972 [5 AEROSOL DISPENSER HAVING lg; lgeslsller 2.5;2322/95 E IBLE LLAPSIBLE PRODUCT 0t 06 X g f sg 3,417,901 12/1968 Sands. ..222/95 3,451,596 6/1969 Marand .222/ 193 [72] Inventors: Jean Marand; Felix Rousselot, both of St. 3,416,709 12/1969 Schultz et al. ..222/64 Benoit, France v Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves [73] Asslgnee' Ciba-Gelgy Corporation Assistant Examiner-Fredrick R. Handren [22] Filed: Feb. 2, 1971 Attorney-Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack 21 Appl. No.: 112,055 [57] ABSTRACT Related Applicamm Data An aerosol dispenser of the type in which the propellant and [63] Continuation f s 7 549 O 10 19 the product to be dispensed are kept separate until dispensed. abandoned. The dispenser has an outer container with a valve means on said outer container. A propellant cartridge is provided in said [30] Foreign Application Priority Data outer container and is coupled to said valve means. At least one fluid tight flexible sac is provided in said outer container Oct. 11, 1967 France 124018 and contains the product to be dispensed in a fluid condition, and means is provided coupling said sac to said valve means j for aspirating the contents of the sac when the valve means is [58] Fieid 94 95 239/308 opened to allow propellant to flow from said propellant car- 239/323 tridge. The sac collapses due to the atmospheric pressure around it as the contents are aspirated. [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Micallef ..222/95 =IIIIIIII 3 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDdUH131972 3,669,313

SHEET 10F 3 I I 2O 18 22 U 1422 FIG.|

INVENTORS JEAN MARAND FELIX ROUSSELOT BY 7/ 26 25 M ATTORNEYS AEROSOL DISPENSER HAVING FLEXIBLE COLLAPSIBLE PRODUCT CONTAINING SAC This application is a Continuation of Ser. No. 766,549, filed Oct. 10, 1968, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to an improved aerosol dispenser for spraying a fluid product, generally liquid, by aspirating it with a liquefied gas propellant which is released in the gas phase as a valve means is actuated by the user of the aerosol dispenser.

More specifically, this invention relates to an aerosol dispenser of the type in which the material to be sprayed is held in a product container different from the cartridge holding the propellant, generally consisting of a gas liquefied under pressure so that the material and the propellant are kept separate from each other in the dispenser.

Such aerosol dispensers differ from those having only a single container with a single liquid therein, which is a mixture of the liquid to be sprayed and the propellant, which is partly in a gas phase above the liquid. Such dispensers require a rigid and strong container to hold the liquid and gas phases under pressure.

In addition, aerosol dispensers are known in which the product to be sprayed is a liquid contained in a flexible and collapsible bladder-like sac. This sac is housed in a strong, rigid container holding the propellant under pressure in such a way that the propellent exerts compression on the sac, yet it is not placed in direct contact with the liquid to be sprayed, which is desirable in many instances. In dispensers such as these, the pressure of the gas around the flexible sac tends to compress the latter and to expel the liquid it contains as soon as a valve in the rigid container is opened. Thus, the sac is emptied by pressure of the gas around it.

The invention in the present case relates to dispensers where the product to be sprayed and the propellant are kept separate and in which there is a new application of flexible sacs for storage of the product to be sprayed.

According to the invention, the aerosol dispenser includes an outer container having a valve means thereon and inside of which container are (a) a cartridge containing a propellant under pressure, and (b) a tight flexible sac having means placing the interior of the sac in communication with the valve means, the sac containing the product, generally liquid, to be dispensed. The sac is emptied by aspiration of the contents therefrom when the propellant is released through the valve means.

This arrangement of a flexible sac in this type of dispenser has, as will be seen, many valuable new results.

According to one particular embodiment, the flexible sac has the propellant cartridge within it, and according to another embodiment, it constitutes an annular casing which surrounds at least part of the surface of the propellant cartridge. In this embodiment, the annular casing formed by the flexible sac is preferably wrapped in a spiral around the propellant cartridge.

The invention provides various means for mounting the flexible sac in the dispenser. In particular, it can be mounted in liquid tight engagement with the valve body of the valve means, or can be secured tightly around the dip tube that feeds the spray nozzle.

According to another version, the flexible sac is connected to the valve means by a coupling which is connected in a liquid tight manner to said sac.

In all cases, the valve means only has to handle a dual obturation, i.e. of the propellant and of the product, if provision is made so that the outer container holding the sac has apertures communicating with the outside atmosphere. This results in an appreciable economy.

The invention also provides means which makes it possible to dispense gas-phase propellant no matter how the dispenser is pointed, so that it can be used upside down or in any other position.

Other features of the invention will be made clear by the following description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial section of a first embodiment of the dispenser according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of a second embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a similar view of a third embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a section of the upper part of the dispenser taken along IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a coupling forming part of the dispenser of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are partial elevational views of the outside of difierent forms of the lower end of the dip tube for the propellant;

FIG. 8 is a partial axial sectional view of another embodiment of the lower end of the dip tube; and

FIG. 9 is a corresponding plan view taken along line IX-IX of FIG. 8.

The particular embodiment of the dispenser according to the invention as shown in FIG. I is designed for spraying a product in liquid fonn. This dispenser has an outer container 1 made of plastic or metal which has a valve means 2 mounted on the top thereof. The valve means includes a cap 3 mounted on upper edge 4 of container 1. At its center, the cap 3 has an annular body 5 depending therefrom which has mounted therein a flexible annular gasket 6 just below a central opening in cap 3. Attached to body 5, for example, by having the upper edge formed tightly around a flange on the lower end of body 5, is a propellant cartridge 7 containing propellant 8 under pressure, a great part of which is in a liquefied state. A truncated cone shaped retaining ring 9, held between cartridge 7 and body 5, retains a high pressure annular gasket 11 provided for obturating the flow of the propellant.

Slidably mounted in a bore along the axis of valve means 2 is a hollow stem 12 which has an enlarged portion 13 about in the middle thereof which cooperates with gasket 6 to form a low pressure obturator for the liquid product to be dispensed. In addition, stem 12 has a second enlarged portion 14 at the lower end thereof which cooperates with gasket 11 to form a high pressure obturator.

An annular chamber 15 is provided in body 5, into which dip tube 16 opens, and in which enlarged portion 13 moves up and down. The upper end of stem 12 projects through the opening in cap 3 and has an annular tube 17 therearound which depends from pushbutton l9. Annular tube 17 opens into a space around nozzle 18 housed in pushbutton 19. The hollow center 21 of stem 12 conducts propellant to the rear end of nozzle 18 from radial openings 20 normally closed by gasket 11. This valve means is a type which itself is known and is not part of this invention. I

The liquid product to be sprayed is contained in a liquid tight flexible sac 22 which is placed in container 1. Flexible sac 22 is preferably a thin walled type and has great flexibility. This sac can be made of one of the following products;

a. polyethylene, either extruded, blown directly in its final shape, or obtained by sealing a film or sheath into the proper form, if the product is an aqueous or water-alcohol liquid product. Polyethylene has excellent impermeability with respect to water and alcohols;

b. unplasticized, polyvinyl chloride or polyamide, if the product to be sprayed is a material in solution in a hydrocarbon, or contains fragrant substances, since these two materials have good impermeability with respect to hydrocarbons and odors;

0. thin metal aluminum foil, for instance, if the solution contains solvents that are very incompatible with respect to most plastic materials, as, for example, halogenated, ketone or benzene solvents;

d. compound or laminated materials, e.g. polyethyleneregenerated cellulose, polyethylene-aluminum, polyethylene-polyesters, etc., for special uses, such as when solvents are involved for which no single plastic material is suitable, or for very good impenneability. The very broad range of flexible material presently available on the market makes it possible to find satisfactory solutions for a very large number of problems.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, sac 22 completely encloses inner propellant cartridge 7. Said sac 22 has, around its opening, a reinforcing ring 23 which is attached in a liquid tight manner, for example by welding, onto the annular body 5 of valve means 2. Sac 22 is filled with liquid 24 to be dispensed, said filling being performed in such a way as to avoid introducing air. To perform this filling, advantageous use can be made of a device of the type described in copending application Ser. No. 764,1 l filed on Oct. 1, 1968 and entitled: A Device for the Filling of Dispensers of the Aerosol-Type Having a Separate Self-Contained Propulsion Unit. This device makes it possible to introduce the propellant and the product to be dispensed into the respective containers at the same time.

When sac 22 is full, it occupies just about the entire free volume of outer container 1 and the liquid to be dispensed is directly in contact with cartridge 7.

In the embodiment described, sac 22 is stretched by the weight of liquid 24 which it contains and is suspended from ring 23. For this reason, the bottom of container 1 can be omitted. As shown in the drawing, however, the bottom simply consists of a cross-piece 25 having large openings 26 between its parts. Slightly flexible dip tube 16 extends into the interior of sac 22. The dispenser can also have a removable cap 27 which protects pushbutton 19.

Pushing down on pushbutton 19 causes stem 12 to slide toward propellant cartridge 7, which allows the propellant to escape through radial openings 20, hollow center 21 and the nozzle 18, and the low pressure in the nozzle aspirates liquid 24 through tube 16 into chamber 15, tube 17 and through radial passages into nozzle 18 from which it is sprayed.

An advantage of this arrangement is that the liquid 24 is in direct contact with propellant cartridge 7. This makes it possible to avoid a violent cooling of the latter in case of prolonged use of the dispenser. As sac 22 empties, its volume is reduced. If it is made of plastic material, it will contract; otherwise, its walls will gradually flatten themselves against each other.

If there is any danger of harmful interactions between liquid 24 and the material of propellant cartridge 7, for example, if the liquid 24 is aqueous and the cartridge 'is metal, the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 or 3 can be used. Provision is made in these embodiments for a complete separation between liquid 24 and the wall of propellant cartridge 7.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, sac 22a has no shape of its own. It has only a narrow outlet opening equipped with a ring 31,.the diameter of which is such that it can be fitted tightly around dip, tube 16. Ring 31 is then welded or cemented to said tube. When sac 22ais placed in container 1, it is wound around propellant cartridge 7 and surrounds it while contacting only part of its surface.

It will be noted that in this embodiment, containerl has a solid bottom 32, whereas cover 3 has apertures 33 therein to permit air to enter the container 1. v

To prevent the aperture 34 at thelower end of the dip tube from becoming clogged during use by the wall of sac 22a, perforations 35 are provided spaced at intervals along the length of said clip tube.

In order to make maximum use of the free space between container 1 and propellant cartridge 7, there can be provided, as shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, a flexible sac 22c for the liquid product, which sac extends annularly around the propellant cartridge 7 and body with the opposite ends of the sac, in the circumferential direction, being adjacent each other. More precisely, sac 220 has an outer wall 36 and an inner wall 37 joined together along annular junction strip 38. Preferably, these walls are made of a single sheet suitably folded back and cemented or welded.

As seen in FIG. 4, the end of sac 22a has thin parts 39a and 39b which overlap. Sac 22a is connected with annular chamber in valve means 2 through coupling 41 shown in FIG. 5. The coupling 41 has a flange 42 having radial grooves 43 in the face thereof, and a tubular body 44 extending rearwardly therefrom. Said coupling 41 is inserted in sac 22a in such a way that inner wall 37 is wedged between flange 42 and a separate ring 45 slipped around tubular body 44. Body 44 is then pushed into a channel provided for this purpose in body 5, and emerges into chamber 15. The lower part of sac 22a rests on bottom 32 of container 1.

Of course, if so desired,flange 42 can be cemented or welded by heat, high frequency or ultrasonic welding to wall 37 and the assembly will consist of parts 41, 45 and 5.

As it empties, sac 22a flattens out and walls 36 and 37 flatten against each other. However, if wall 36 presses against flange 42, surface channels 43 will allow the liquid to pass toward tubular body 44 so that continuity of operation is assured.

In this embodiment, propellant cartridge 7 has means therein which permits dispensing of gaseous propellant in all positions of the dispenser. For this purpose, between body 5 and propellant cartridge 7 is mounted an inset plug 46 which has a chamber 47 therein into which enlarged portion 14 can move. Chamber 47 is connected to a tube 48 which is roughly equal in length to half the axial dimension of propellant cartridge 7. In addition to this, provision is made so that the level to which propellant cartridge 7 is filled with liquefied propellant 8 is, at the start and with the dispenser in a vertical position, at the level of the suction opening at the lower end of tube 48.

Because of the relationship of the length of tube 48 and the level to which propellant cartridge 7 is filled, it will be understood that when the dispenser is in an upright position, as shown in FIG. 3, the propellant is always dispensed from the gas phase. Even if thedispenser is turned over so that it is upside down, propellant 8 follows the walls of propellant cartridge 7 and the open end of dip tube 48 always remains in the gas phase.

However, it may happen that if the user turns container 1 over suddenly, a few drops of propellant in a liquid state which have not had time to follow along the walls will get into dip tube 48, which would interfere with the operation.

To prevent this, the various means, which are shown schematically in FIGS. 6 to 9, can be provided. The first means, shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, is a modified end of dip tube 48. A partition 61 closes the open end of tube 48, and in the vicinity of partitions 61 are some rectangular slits 62 (FIG. 6) or circular openings 63 (FIG. 7). Of course, these openings must be located above the level of the plane that separates propellant cartridge 7 into two equal volumes.

Another means is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The end of tube 48 has two spaced parallel disks 64 and 65 mounted at the ends of radial partitions 66. This forms a dual cap that prevents drops of propellant running along tube 48 from flowing into the inlet opening. The same is true of drops which fall toward the end of the tube from the bottom of the propellant cartridge 7.

As compared with known dispensers in which the propellant and product are kept separate, the dispenser of the present invention has the following advantages.

The danger of corrosion of the propellant cartridge is eliminated even if the latter is made of metal and the product to be sprayed is corrosive with respect to metals, as is the case with aqueous alcohol solutions.

The danger of degradation of the outer container in contact with the liquid to be sprayed is also eliminated. Likewise, there is no problem with respect to the permeability of this container to the product to be sprayed. Thus, the container can be made of inexpensive and permeable plastic materials,

such as polyethylene or polystyrene. It can even be made of metal, wood, or cardboard without any limitation as to material or shape, other than that the material be sufficiently strong and rigid to hold the sac.

. Also, the invention makes it possible to prevent the risks of degradation of the product to be sprayed due to contact with the air. Such degradation can, for instance, consist of the formation of a film on paint or glue or the spoiling of the fragrance of a perfumed product. Similarly, the dangers of contamination by bacteria or the dangers of oxidation and degradation of food products in contact with the air can be prevented completely.

The connection between the valve means and the outer container no longer has to be tight. Fastening by means of tight cementation or welding can, therefore, be replaced by screwing or by means of catches, which are more simple to manufacture and assemble. Since the outer container becomes a mere support, it can be made of any material, metal, plastic, glass, or even wood or cardboard, and be given any shape desired.

The FIGS. 3-9 modification of the dispenser can be used in any position, right side up as well as upside down, or laid down horizontally. This is useful for a great number of products such as paints, waxes, body deodorants, etc.

Obviously, the invention is not limited to the models described and many variations can be devised. Thus, in the examples referred to above, the propellant cartridge is at the center along the axis of the dispenser, but obviously it can be placed in a position away from the center; for example side by side with the flexible sac containing the product to be sprayed, if it is not desired that the dispenser have a generally spiral form, but, for example a flat shape, since it is easier to make a sac in such a shape. The propellant cartridge can be placed in a horizontal position or else above or below the flexible sac. In all cases, the connections between the flexible sac and the valve means, as well as between the propellant cartridge and the valve means, can be made by means of tubes of suitable length which may or may not be flexible.

It is also understood that the invention is independent of the type of valve used. The dispenser can be equipped with a valve in which the high pressure obturator and low pressure obturator are integrated into the same body, as shown in the drawings. A mechanical assembly could also be made with a high pressure obturator and a low pressure obturator capable of operating independently of each other.

Moreover, two or more flexible sacs could be used, each containing a difierent product which it is desirable not to mix before use, and which will not be mixed until they are sprayed by simultaneous aspiration by the propellant flowing through a nozzle.

We claim:

1. An aerosol dispenser of the type in which the propellant and the product to be dispensed are kept separate until dispensed, said dispenser comprising an outer container, a valve means on said outer container, a propellant cartridge in said outer container coupled to said valve means, and at least one fluid tight flexible sac in said outer container containing the product to be dispensed in a fluid condition extending annularly around said propellant cartridge with the opposite ends of the sac, in the circumferential direction, being overlapped and the sac covering at least a part of said propellant cartridge, and means coupling said sac to said valve means for aspirating the contents of the sac when the valve means is opened to allow propellant to flow from said propellant cartridge.

2. An aerosol dispenser of the type in which the propellant and the product to be dispensed are kept separate until dispensed, said dispenser comprising an outer container, a valve means on said outer container, a propellant cartridge in said outer container coupled to said valve means, and at least one fluid tight flexible sac in said outer container containing the product to be dispensed in a fluid condition, said sac being wound in a spiral around said propellant cartridge, and means coupling said sac to said valve means for aspirating the contents of the sac when the valve means is opened to allow propellant to flow from said propellant cartridge.

3. An aerosol dispenser of the type in which the propellant and the product to be dispensed are kept separate until dispensed, said dispenser comprising an outer container, a valve means on said outer container, a propellant cartridge in said outer container coupled to said valve means, and at least one fluid tight flexible sac in said outer container containing the product to be dispensed in a fluid condition, said propellant cartridge being contained within said flexible sac and depending from said valve means, and means coupling said sac in fluid tight relationship to said valve means for aspirating the contents of the sac when the valve means is opened to allow propellant to flow from said propellant cartridge. 

1. An aerosol dispenser of the type in which the propellant and the product to be dispensed are kept separate until dispensed, said dispenser comprising an outer container, a valve means on said outer container, a propellant cartridge in said outer container coupled to said valve means, and at least one fluid tight flexible sac in said outer container containing the product to be dispensed in a fluid condition extending annularly around said propellant cartridge with the opposite ends of the sac, in the circumferential direction, being overlapped and the sac covering at least a part of said propellant cartridge, and means coupling said sac to said valve means for aspirating the contents of the sac when the valve means is opened to allow propellant to flow from said propellant cartridge.
 2. An aerosol dispenser of the type in which the propellant and the product to be dispensed are kept separate until dispensed, said dispenser comprising an outer container, a valve means on said outer container, a propellant cartridge in said outer container coupled to said valve means, and at least one fluid tight flexible sac in said outer container containing the product to be dispensed in a fluid condition, said sac being wound in a spiral around said propellant cartridge, and means coupling said sac to said valve means for aspirating the contents of the sac when the valve means is opened to allow propellant to flow from said propellant cartridge.
 3. An aerosol dispenser of the type in which the propellant and the product to be dispensed are kept separate until dispensed, said dispenser comprising an outer container, a valve means on said outer container, a propellant cartridge in said outer container coupled to said valve means, and at least one fluid tight flexible sac in said outer container containing the product to be dispensed in a fluid condition, said propellant cartridge being contained within said flexible sac and depending from said valve means, and means coupling said sac in fluid tight relationship to said valve means for aspirating the contents of the sac when the valve means is opened to allow propellant to flow from said propellant cartridge. 